PAVEL MIKHAILOVICH GOLUBITSKY (1845-1911)

The inventor P.M. Golubitsky is considered to be the founder of Russian telephony.

P.M. Golubitsky was born on 16 (28) March 1845 in Korchevsky County, Tver province.

In 1870 he graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University. Since 1876, when the world first learned of American Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, Golubitskiy devoted himself entirely to work in the field of telephony.

By 1878 Golubitskiy had already created his first original phone, the so-called phone vibrator. It was a device only slightly more superior than overseas examples. In 1881, after years of painstaking research and numerous tests on telegraph lines at the Bandar Galati railway, Golubitskiy's newly established telephone workshop was heading towards considerable success.

In 1883 Golubitskiy created a microphone with carbon powder (two conductive plates separated by carbon powder) and, in 1885, a microphone with centralized location of carbon powder. In the same year, the innovator developed a centralized power microphone, using power supply from a central battery located at a central telephone station, which later led to the creation of large urban telephone networks.

In 1886 Golubitskiy invented a switch, which allowed the interconnection of multiple phone lines. In addition, he was the pioneer of rail-transport telephony. Train-set devices were first tested in April 1888 on the Nikolaev railway line (Petersburg 2nd to Obuhovo). The phone set was placed in the baggage wagon and two stationary phones installed at both Petersburg 2nd and Obuhovo stations.

The aim was to prove that a conversation could take place from the train to either station no matter where the train was. Connection with stations could be established in less than five minutes. Responses were heard quite clearly.

Golubitskiy created a telephone system at the Kursk and Nikolaev railways, consisting of the station, booth and train devices. For a long time, the Golubitskiy phone was the main means of communication on the railways.

The introduction of Pavel Mikhailovich Golubitskiy's inventions into practice at the start of the 20th Century paved the way for reliable, well-operating telephones. Some modern telephones still use devices created by this outstanding Russian inventor, in particular the handset that combines microphone and receiver in a single unit, as well as the shift lever to change from call-mode to speak-mode.